Once upon a time we had an elderly woman in our church that was famous for making the statement: “God don’t make no junk!” We would all laugh but when you think about it, you can’t help to wonder sometimes if you are “junk”.

We all have this little voice inside of us that is negative. It is not an audible voice but many times a series of thoughts that go through our mind, especially when we stand before a mirror. The voice usually says something like: “I’m too (fat, ugly, old, etc.).” Sometimes this voice talks to us all day long, tearing us down, waiting for someone to come along to reinforce that voice.

There comes a time when we must fight back. We must make a decision to fight the lies of the enemy. We can begin by combating this voice with God’s powerful and undeniable truth. Here’s the biggest truth of all: God loves us. It’s an insult to Him when we put down the way He made us. You and I are wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14). I know it’s hard for us to imagine that we are “wonderfully” made but that’s how God thinks about us. We are His creation and He loves His creation.

Do you like you as you are? How does God’s opinion change the way you think about yourself?

Regardless of the circumstances of your birth, you and I are not just here taking up space. From the womb God formed us for His purpose. We see the television talk shows full of personal makeovers, people talking about how much they dislike a person’s hair, clothes, make-up or something else about them. In the question of eternity, does it really matter if you look fat in those jeans?

One of the basic fundamentals of our praise and worship of God is our realization and acceptance of how wonderfully and beautifully He has created us. How can we know for certain that we aren't an exception to the rule? When the psalmist writes, "your works are wonderful, I know that full well," he is declaring that God doesn't make junk ~ and that he is convinced of it!

Our value in God's eyes is based upon His creation of you and I prior to our arrival into this world and not based upon the "damaged goods" that we may have become over the course of our life in this world.

As you look at yourself today, if you think of yourself as damaged goods, remind yourself that God doesn't make junk and that He is in the restoration business! Your value in His eyes has not changed from the moment He created you. He brings new life to our “junkyards”. The apostle John said: "How great is the love that the Father has lavished upon us—that we should be called ! And that is what we are!" God has not just called us , but we truly are . God has made a payment for you that leaves no doubt about what you are worth. God made a payment for you with the of his own Son. That’s how much you were worth to him. He took the junk of your life, and he paid to remove it with the of his Son. What's left? A priceless soul, a priceless human being.

So you see, what makes you and I so valuable has nothing to do with us, our looks, talents and abilities. The world has it backwards: God doesn't love us because we are valuable. Rather, we are valuable because God loves us. And because God's love doesn't change, neither does our value. Our value doesn’t change when we make a lot of mistakes. It doesn’t change when we gain 20 pounds that we can’t lose. It doesn’t change because the people who used to be our friends are no longer our friends. It doesn’t change because we’ve grown older, lost energy, lost abilities. We may look in the mirror and see ourselves as unattractive or ugly, but God says, "Look at my beautiful child, dressed in Christ's clothes." We may feel stupid compared to our brothers, sisters, co-workers, spouse. God says, "Look at my brilliant child, filled with the wisdom and the knowledge of Christ." We may feel dull, boring. God says, "Look at my exciting child, who has the joy of the gospel in his heart!" We may feel poor. God says, "Look at my wealthy child, who possesses all the glorious riches of Christ." We may feel our age creeping up on us. God says, "Look at my vibrant young child, who has brand new life each day in Christ."

When we accept Christ as our Savior and recognize the sacrifice that He made for our salvation, we become as new creatures. Forget the junkyard! God is the one who does the cleansing. It isn’t a church rule book or manmade standard of living, it is God’s gift to us because He sees through the “junk” in our lives and sees the earthen treasure He created.

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW

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